Dear MLM Con Artist

I have been compelled to write this letter on the back of the second most underhand tactic I have seen by an MLM con artist, to recruit unsuspecting (and potentially vulnerable) people; mostly stay-at-home-mums.

Before I begin, I shall state that while I am as a whole against Multi Level Marketing (MLM), if people choose to buy into these things with their eyes open, and don’t ram it down others’ throats, then we’re all good. Live and let live. I’ve even bought products from friends doing these things before; if they’re good products, I’m not being hoodwinked, and I’m supporting a friend – then yay!

Now that that’s cleared up:

Dear MLM Con Artist,

This afternoon an email landed in my inbox with a round-up of job vacancies that I may be interested in. I get a few of these each week, and often they’re either too far away, too little money, or simply not at all what I’m looking for. However when I saw the words ‘Work from home – social media executive. Part time.’ my heart leapt!

Hurrah! A job that I’m completely experienced to do, can do from home, and still have time in the week for my blog and shop!

The job spec looked fine, and it had been posted by what appeared to be a recruitment company. It wasn’t particularly well written, but then nor are a good 80% of the job specs I’m sent through. I filled in my details, uploaded my CV, and then left to have lunch with my best friend.

Not too long after I’d submitted my application, an email from you – oh MLM Con Artist – pinged into my inbox, and within seconds it was clear that this was nothing more than a recruitment drive for Kleeneze – posting catalogues through hundreds of doors and spamming social media with sales posts. (That, my friends, is an entirely different ‘job’ to the one of a Social Media Executive. I should know, after all I wrote a job spec for a Social Media Executive when I needed to hire one a mere 4 months ago.)

You see MLM Con Artist, I would call that false advertisement, as would the Advertising Standards Agency. So that is exactly how I have referred to it in my email to the website upon which your ‘vacancy’ was listed. I shan’t name them until they have had a reasonable chance to reply.

I was really rather polite in my emails back to you – too polite, it could be argued. It could also be argued that I should invoice you for the time you wasted not only through the initial lie of a job ad, but then the emails that you continued to send me once I had said an unequivocal “No” to your insistence that I join your cult. Facebook group. Call it what you will.

So, MLM Con Artist, while I think that your actions are abhorrent and could potentially scam people out of the hundreds of pounds it takes to ‘buy in’ to your little rung on the giant pyramid scheme (which you don’t mention at all in your emails) – why are you only the second worst MLM liar I’ve come across?

Here’s the worst one:

I – as a new mum suffering with PND, desperate to get fit and look after myself better – engaged with the ad below, then spotted the mention of Herbalife.

I asked the person directly whether her class was simply a Herbalife recruitment drive, aimed at catching women in their vulnerable postnatal state, with promises of health and wealth.

I was blocked immediately. I’ll take that as a yes then…

MLM Con Artist, I hope you don’t sleep easily at night, not when you are telling outright LIES in order to recruit people to your scheme. I am well aware of the dedication and “self discipline” it takes to work from home running a business with a young family because guess what? I DO IT! I run my own business, one which I own and which I pour my heart and soul into. A business through which I donate to charity and support parents through a Random Acts of Kindness Scheme. And that, MLM Con Artist, is an honest and decent way to run a business.

Yours,

Hannah.

Lovely readers, I am angry. I have spent much of this afternoon speaking to the amazing Talented Ladies Club because I am furious at this underhand tactic. I do live and let live, until I see a huge injustice that is misleading at best, and potentially damaging to those who fall for it. It’s one thing to buy into an MLM scheme knowing what you’re getting into, it’s a whole other ball game being lured in under false pretences.

I could write a whole other post about why I dislike MLM as a business strategy, but instead I shall urge you to read this fantastic article by Kate Dyson of The Motherload, because she says it all.

Comments (18)

I was conned out of nearly £100 by Kleeneze and ongoing emails and demands for more money etc and it just wasn’t even viable. Horrendous company. They basically sold me “last season” end of line catalogs that by the time they arrived at my door required me to buy more for the new season plus all the additional money to pay for my “website” which is just a landing page and link to me… I could go on…..

I quite often get friend requests on Facebook from people I don’t know and when I investigate a little further it’s all about cleanses and diet pills *eye roll*
They just seem to pester everyone these days x

What awful tactics! I can’t believe they have the nerve to do that! I’ve bought some MLM products – some are genuinely good, but these scummy techniques some companies use really give a bad name to them all.

Read your MLM blog this morning and – ha – just got a message from Herbalife on Linkedin looking for a social media manager.

I wouldn’t have fallen for this one. My parents got enmeshed in MLM decades ago, pre social media. So I am all too aware how it works and know lots of the names. I was able to enjoy the bogus approach for its sheer hamfistedness.

Wow, they are bad but this is a new one on me. I cant stand them. Good for you telling them where to shove it. I used to take part in a free bootcamp run by Herbalife people. It was fun but I was frank, I ain’t having factory produced, expensive shakes or whatever. I love food, REAL food xx

I used to run a retail business and stood next to a Herbalife consultant at a pregnancy and baby fair. Most women were pregnant or had newborns and her pitch face to face made me cringe as she was promoting the immediate loss of baby weight asap after the birth. Awful

Ah I actually read this post the other day and forgot to comment! I’m bloody sick of these emails and get rich quick nonsense of Facebook – it really actually is conning people and its not a joke. In some cases it is fraud and it targets vulnerable people – shame on them I say!

I wouldn’t ever put money into one of these things, but the point is that they’re advertising as if it’s a social media executive role when in fact it’s nothing of the sort – people are being hoodwinked into thinking they’re applying for an actual job xx